Claudio Vargas will be:

Anybody have any thoughts on this guy and his fantasy value for this year? (I'm not starting him against the Blue Jays this week)

Siniclypse - you gave me some damn good info on Willis at the beginning of the month, hoping you can shed some light on this guy as well (he's an Expo, so I figure you'll have EXTRA good knowledge for me!)

Last edited by DGroundhog on Thu Jun 26, 2003 12:30 am, edited 1 time in total.

Here's what ROTOWORLD had to say about him:
Claudio Vargas shut out the Pirates for eight innings tonight to earn his fourth victory. Vargas pushed his ERA under 3.00 with his second straight outstanding start against the Pirates. He's not going to keep pitching this well, but we have more faith in him than we do in Jae Seo and Brandon Webb.

I have Vargas on my team & have been very pleased with what he's done for me. Unfortunately I haven't seen him pitch so all I can go by is the numbers. I can quote one of the CBS Sportsline updates though: "Vargas is not a big strikeout pitcher, but he has good stuff........"

The game at Toronto will be a good test. The Jays are brutal on visiting pitcher's ERA this year.

Vargas is a huge shocker. There was nothing to indicate this was coming. His minor league numbers at AA and AAA prior to this season were not good. In fact, they were pretty pathetic, particularly last season.

As usual, the so called experts haven't a clue. Vargas is not an especially hard thrower...no idea where they got that. And anyone who rates him ahead of Webb is goofy. The only surprise on Webb is that he arrived a year ahead of schedule.

As it happens, I know one of the Montreal coaches and talked to him yesterday. They're as surprised by Vargas as anyone. I would say to enjoy this run while it lasts, but don't be stunned if he starts going the other way.

I was impressed with Vargas when I sat down almost two weeks ago and watched him pitch six innings of one-run ball in a 1-0 loss to the Seattle Mariners. Since then he has faced Pittsburgh twice, going 1-0 with two runs allowed in 15.1 IP. His June numbers border on the spectacular: 2-1, 1.15 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 1 HR allowed. Vargas is big and throws hard. Montreal has a habit of developing young pitchers, so give this guy a chance while he's hot.

Did he not say he throws hard????

:::crosses 'The Lamer' off his list of reliable fantasy sources...this time in ink:::

If he was throwing 97, we'd have all heard of him in Spring Training. You don't have to throw 3 digits to throw hard, but he has been doing a good job of making his 92-93 MPH fastball effective, which is what Funston, who WATCHED the game, probably noticed. He is not Dontrelle of the North, but I consider him a solid pitcher in NL-only leagues, and would put him right below Webb.